Help - Picky Eater, Sunday Dinner.

[soyarra]

I will be in Berkeley Sunday night to take my niece to dinner. The problem: I need to find a restaurant with good plain cheese pizza (she hates Zachary's deep dish), or a good plain hamburger, or some other sort of plain diner food. I would rather go to Chez Panisse or some local Indian place, but we must cater to her needs (she's a freshman at Cal). Any suggestions? I'm at my wits' end here. Thanks in advance.

[Ruth Lafler]

If she likes diner food, the Claremont Diner isn't bad, and the trains are fun. It's kitty corner from Noodle Theory and a short block from Wood Tavern, so you might want to try the others and plan Claremont Diner as your "fallback."

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Claremont Diner
6200 Claremont Ave, Oakland, CA

[Kim Cooper]

What about Barney's burgers on Solano? Are they still there?

[kmah]

I second Luka's, they make a great burger, and their other options are great, using nice ingredients....but what about Pizzaiolo?? I'm biased, I work there, but plain pizza is ALWAYS on the menu (Marinara/Margerita), and everything else is wonderful. Depending on the night, other 'plain' food includes simple salads, meatballs, fried chicken...

[ML8000]

Soyarra...as the cool aunt, you owe it your niece and yourself to go somewhere decent. She'll appreciate it later...and next time you bring her somewhere nicer, she'll really appreciate after some major food suckage in the dorms. Yes, you must be the facilitator of good taste and/or eats. Also, she'll be going to Jupiter on her own soon enough and it really is a beer garden/college hang, although a nicer one.

Besides Wood Tavern, Maritime East, T-Rex, add Fonda on Solano Ave.

[Robert Lauriston]

I don't think Fonda's a safe bet. Nothing as simple as a cheese pizza or burger:

http://www.fondasolana.com/menu_dinne...

[Glencora]

My son ate chips and salsa at Fonda. Period. At least he doesn't mind watching us eat. I agree with the other ideas, though, especially T-Rex. Cafe Rouge is good, too. She'd probably like 4th street, if she hasn't already been. I also recommend Luka's taproom in Oakland. It's a fun place and there is a range of food, as well as a plain burger. Open Sunday.

As to whether she'll appreciate it later.... Who knows.

[Truffle Dog]

Will Jupiter even let an 18/19-year-old sit down? It's a beer garden.

A lot of these suggestions are good - I'd add one other: Nizza La Bella on San Pablo in Albany. They serve good New York style thin pizza and they also serve good Provencal style bistro food. They have great steaks too - not sure if that's "plain" enough. I recommend ordering the Steak Frites very rare - possibly the east bay's best. Also they have great cocktails (for you not the niece).

[Robert Lauriston]

Nizza's another good option.

Jupiter is technically a restaurant with on-sale beer and wine. It's good for pub grub, but why settle for that when you could go to Corso, Wood Tavern, Maritime, or Rouge

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Nizza La Bella
827 San Pablo Ave, Albany, CA 94706

[mitzimarmle]

I've seen kids in the garden at Jupiter. No problem.

[Robert Lauriston]

Despite the beer-bar atmosphere, Jupiter's a restaurant with a beer and wine license, just like Triple Rock and Lanesplitter.

[tonyarose]

Jupiter does card, but only at night times (late, like after 9 maybe?)

[Robert Lauriston]

Corso has good pizza and Cafe Rouge, Wood Tavern, and Maritime East have great hamburgers. They all have lots of more interesting things and are open for dinner Sunday.

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Wood Tavern
6317 College Ave., Oakland, CA 94618

Maritime East
2826 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA

Corso
1788 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709

[Robert Lauriston]

Corrected link:

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Cafe Rouge
1782 Fourth St, Berkeley, CA 94710

[wolfe]

Perhaps Bobby G's with a little less emphasis on beer.

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Bobby G's Pizzeria
2074 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704

[Sharuf]

Being a picky eater drama queen is not a good social skill. I suggest you not "cater to her needs" but you can take her somewhere where they offer normal American food.

[soyarra]

Thank you all for these suggestions. Actually, my nephew (her brother) just yelled over the phone "Take her to Chez Panisse!," but my husband yelled in reply (we're a yelling family) from the next room that he's not paying those prices for her to stare at her food as if it had just been beamed in from another planet. Sigh. As such, the only viable option suggested here is Jupiter, so I suppose Jupiter it is. Thanks again, everyone.

[ML8000]

Just bring her to Chez Panisse Cafe...they have pizza on the menu 98% (actually I think 100%) of the time. Just have her order it plain and get a salad. I don't know any better way to start off in Berkeley. She probably won't appreciate it fully until after she tells her friends...one of which will tell her how cool it is. Haha..in 3 years she'll be telling you where to go.

If you need that place between diner food and reasonable eats, I'd go to Venus, i.e., New American. You'll be able to get something decent and she'll be able to get something basic.

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Venus Restaurant
2327 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704

[karma_bites]

Gregoire. You'll love it, she won't be intimidated. Can't go wrong.

[JasmineG]

I would not take a picky eater to Gregoire, in general. This is their current dinner menu: http://www.gregoirerestaurant.com/men... Maybe the breaded chicken filet would work for her?

[Windy]

Would she go for Middle Eastern/Israeli food? I'm very fond of the assorted salads, falafel, bastilla, and mint lemonades at Holy Land on College. There are a few more familiar/boring options on the menu like chicken soup.

[janetofreno]

A freshman at Cal needs to expand her horizons a bit......

Seriously, what about T-Rex? I've never been there, but from the descriptions from chowhound it sounds like they may have that kind of thing....

[JasmineG]

They do have a regular burger on the menu, though if a slightly fancy regular burger bothers your niece, it may be too weird. You could go to Maritime East, they have a fantastic burger, and other good stuff for you (though it's not mostly diner food). You can get plain cheese pizza at Jupiter, but she'll likely go there a lot in the next few years.